Northern Burlington’s Ray Delfing recovered his team’s own blocked field goal with one second left in the game and scored an improbable game-winning touchdown to stun Lawrence Friday night 47-42.

The Cardinals did not recover the free ball after the block and chose instead to celebrate, leaving the Greyhounds to snatch the victory and delight the home crowd.

“They blocked the field goal, and I turned around and saw the ball sitting there, and I saw them walking off,” Delfing said. “I realized that it was a field goal and not a PAT. I picked up the ball and looked at the ref. He was just staring at me because he had not blown the whistle yet, so he was just looking at me.

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“I just walked in, turned to the ref and handed him the ball. They discussed it, and … wow, I don’t even know what to think now.”

Lawrence tackled Northern Burlington’s do-everything back Kenyatta Greene on a two-point conversion attempt with 31 seconds left to seemingly preserve a win.

Greene had just scored his fifth touchdown of the night on a 19-yard pass from Colin Fitzpatrick, but the Greyhounds failed to convert after a touchdown for a fourth time.

But it wasn’t over there.

NBC (4-3) got the ball back on an onside kick with 27 seconds left at midfield for one last gasp. The officials huddled and awarded the ball to the Greyhounds, then changed their mind to Lawrence. They conferenced again and gave it back to NBC, presumably debating whether the kick went 10 yards.

“I want to see the onsides on tape. It’s hard to believe that it went 10 yards,” Lawrence coach Rob Radice said. “I don’t think it did.”

The Hounds frantically drove all the way to the 6 with four seconds left, and they attempted a field goal that was blocked.

Still, it wasn’t over there.

The Cardinals (4-3) failed to recover the ball behind the line of scrimmage, where the offensive team can advance it. Delfing recovered the ball, walked in the end zone and scored an improbable touchdown to win the game in miraculous fashion.

“I thought the field goal crossed the line of scrimmage, but the referee said it didn’t,” Radice said. “I have never seen anything like this. I am hurting for our kids. I was proud of their effort and we told them that.

“We should have gotten it done and we didn’t get it done, that’s the bottom line.”

The would-be winning touchdown for Lawrence came earlier in the fourth quarter, on a deflected 84-yard pass from Nick Falkenberg to Lester Miller.

Lawrence’s Semei Mitchell (277 yards, 4 TDs) and Greene (271 yards, 5 total TDs) waged an epic ground battle, but the defenses got wise to them in the second half, making the yards a lot tougher to come by.

Mitchell drew first blood in the battle of the backs, carrying five times on the opening drive and capping it with a 5-yard score for an early 7-0 lead just two minutes into the game.

Greene struck back with a 46-yard touchdown run on the Greyhounds’ fourth play, but the kick was blocked leaving Lawrence with a one-point lead.

After a punt pinned NBC back, Greene simply gained 94 yards on two carries, the latter covering 89 of those and he was barely touched on the way to the house, giving NBC a 13-7 lead.

The teams swapped punts before Mitchell struck again, this time going 43 yards for another score to tie the game, and the kick failed to keep it that way.

The Hounds moved back down the field to start the second quarter, and they gained a first-and-goal on a controversial play. Marshe Terry was credited with a 29-yard catch and fumble out of bounds, but it appeared that he may not have caught the ball at all. But with no video replay, the Greyhounds got the first down and punched it in two plays later on a sneak by Fitzpatrick for a 20-13 lead.

Mitchell wasted no time going back to work, as he went 68 yards for his third touchdown on the first play of the next possession, tying the game again.

NBC took the lead on a field goal by Karl Butler, but Mitchell struck again, carrying the load for the Cardinals and scoring on a 1-yard plunge to give the visitors a 27-23 lead after a wild first half.

Greene scored two more touchdowns to bookend the third quarter, but the Greyhounds came up empty on both conversions, including a rare attempt at a two-point conversion in a tie game.

The game was tied because, in between, Lawrence got a long passing touchdown from Falkenberg to Devon Hewitt.

About the Author

Matthew Osborne is the editor-in-chief of The Trentonian, where he was the sports editor from 2007-2012. He writes a Heisman Trophy column for Digital First Media and is a voter for the award. Reach the author at mosborne@trentonian.com
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